'scolder' originates from the verb 'scold', from Middle English 'scolden' (or 'scold'), where the root meant 'to rebuke' or 'to reproach'.

'scold' developed in Middle English from earlier Old English/Middle English verbal forms related to rebuking; the agent noun 'scolder' was formed from this verb and eventually became the modern English noun 'scolder'.

Initially it meant 'to rebuke' (the action). Over time the verb's meaning has remained largely the same, and the agent noun came to mean 'a person who scolds'.